More Images
New COVID-19 vaccine boosters, targeting new Omicron strains of the virus, are expected to roll out across the U.S. in September—a month ahead of schedule, the Biden administration announced this week.

Moderna has signed a $1.74 billion federal contract to supply 66 million initial doses of the “bivalent” booster, which includes the original “ancestral” virus strain and elements of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Pfizer also announced a $3.2 billion U.S. agreement for another 105 million shots. Both vaccine suppliers have signed options to provide millions more boosters in the months ahead.

About 83.5 percent of Americans have received at least one COVID-19 shot, with 71.5 percent fully vaccinated with the initial series, 48 percent receiving one booster shot, and 31 percent two boosters, according to the CDC. With about 130,000 new COVID cases per day, and about 440 deaths, officials say the updated boosters may help rein in those figures by targeting the highly transmissible and widely circulating Omicron strains. Head over to WebMD to read the full story.